Special Hobby 1:72 Mirage F.1B numéro 505

[Mountain goat]

Some progress,

...but firstly a change to report; due to insufficient data on 506's life, I've gone to its squadron mate, the 505/ 5-AE - simply because I have found more data on this bird in its early life than the 506. Seems safer to bet on a horse you can actually see. So it's 505 then.

For the decals I have used a combination of the kit supplied sheet - which is excellent by the way - mostly data, warning symbols and walkway lines. For the Escadrille symbols I used Berna decals 72-50; I've reverted to Berna no. 72-48 for the registration letters and numbers; for the roundels I used no. 72-30 (early Mirage F.1Cs). I bought the first and latter especially for this build, although of course the decals will come in most handy in future Mirage projects so it's a worthy investment. I only wish someone would issue or re-issue 52 cm old style roundels in 1/72 as I presume the market for this will only grow. Or Special Hobby might have a regular old F.1C with them cocardes right around the corner for us.

(By the way - have you heard? Special Hobby is already re-issuing the F.1B soon!)

On to the decalling phase. Some explanation first. I don't why, but my preffered methos during decalling is to apply weathering simultaneously. So I might apply decals until the water I use gets cold - then I bring out wash or diluted paint in a lighter tone and start breaking up, in subtle strokes, the monotony of the top colour layer. Again, very subtly. So I can't show you a decalling stage followed by a weathering stage, as these two were mixed a little.

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I'm kind of stranded now - I wasn't aware I had run out of varnish, so I've ordered some new stock. However, I am testing Winsor &Newton varnish with different thinning agents but don't feel confident enough with the product to proceed. As me and my wife are on a week-long holiday from Wednesday, I doubt I'll get it finished before we go. Doesn't really matter, the CMK wheel set is taking ages to arrive (from France this time) so I'm stuck anyway.

And yes, I should be finishing the canopies (which I prefer to brush-paint instead of masking and airbrushing) and ejection seats, but there's lots on my plate this week (deadlines!) - therefore I prefer to defer.

Normally I approach a build with a bit more preparation, I wondered at the beginning what would happen if I'd jump into a build eyes closed . Lots of waiting it turns out.

To be continued!

Jay

Edited August 6, 2016 by Mountain goat

[mirageiv]

Very very nice work. Such a good looking airframe and you are certainly doing it justice, look forward to more. The blue colour looks great too!

[jrlx]

Hi Jay,

Superb job, the model looks beautiful with the decals.

Regarding W&N varnish, I tried their flat varnish but found it always left a residue of white grainy spots in the finish. I'm not sure it was my fault, as I mixed it with IPA or water but didn't want to test it further. I'm now using Alclad varnishes with good results. I have from their lacquer range: flat, semi-mate, light shine and gloss. These are adequate for the finish coat. I also use their acrylic Aqua Gloss, which is good as a gloss finish before decaling, final coat and excellent for dipping transparent parts.

Cheers

Jaime

[Mountain goat]

Very very nice work. Such a good looking airframe and you are certainly doing it justice, look forward to more. The blue colour looks great too!

Thank you - very motivating!

Regarding W&N varnish, I tried their flat varnish but found it always left a residue of white grainy spots in the finish. I'm not sure it was my fault, as I mixed it with IPA or water but didn't want to test it further. I'm now using Alclad varnishes with good results. I have from their lacquer range: flat, semi-mate, light shine and gloss. These are adequate for the finish coat. I also use their acrylic Aqua Gloss, which is good as a gloss finish before decaling, final coat and excellent for dipping transparent parts.

Hi Jaimie,

Cheers! Yes, I had that too - though I believe that was due to the age of the product - it kind of flaked a little when coming in contact with thinning agent. Using a newer bottle I didn't have that problem though. But in any case I did something new this time: I tried it with good old Mr Levelling thinner - at a ratio of about one part W&N and three parts Levelling thinner and that worked rather well, in that it produced a very smooth finish. Only drawbacks (which is why I won't be going for this option this time): slow drying time and instead of camouflaging decal carrier film, it only seemed to accentuate it when I tried.

Though the Aluminium Undersurfaces were coated in Alclad Aqua Gloss, I'm a little wary of using the other Alclad varnishes as a last coat as I'm afraid the lacquers will react with the Mr Hobby Acrylics. Do you use them on Acrylics as well?

Jay

[Antoine]

Can't tell how I managed to miss this one!

Splendid work going on there!

[eclipse]

Very good job !!! Nice blue !

However, allow me one remark : the RWR antennas on the tail fin shouldn't be black but grey. When these antennas are black, it means that RWR isn't Thomson-CSF BF but American AN/ALR-66. Only two countries did surely that, Greece and Morroco.

And, actually, the RWR has four antennas, the two you painted in black and two other on each side of the tail fin.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Eu5970LVYMtZ1ms2gvZep6T129Xnb9G1qpm62eQa3oLEvelNjNcpNSbKDHUq7izOjzAuoIOgHGURwxM=w1280-h800-rw-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d_Z1gJXZttaBMRgDONJNwip-SUaF24O0X6kbWGZeqtwf1aPTnbRGx40t-PS_STMiky8rP71Iq-Wd3Ug=w1280-h800-rw-no

[Wez]

Some progress,

...but firstly a change to report; due to insufficient data on 506's life, I've gone to its squadron mate, the 505/ 5-AE - simply because I have found more data on this bird in its early life than the 506. Seems safer to bet on a horse you can actually see. So it's 505 then.

Jay

Jay,

Always a wise move referencing a photo if you can, I'm still determined to find a picture of the F-1B with the larger Spa171/ERC571 for the Comtat-Venaissin scheme on Berna BD72-50, I live in hope!

Don't forget when weathering that the stencils, national and squadron markings etc will also be weathered, the groundcrew don't waste time making sure those are all shiny when the rest of the airframe is all mucky.

Can't tell how I managed to miss this one!

Splendid work going on there!

Better late than never Antoine! I have to agree, Jay has done a superb job with this kit so far.

Wez

[jrlx]

Though the Aluminium Undersurfaces were coated in Alclad Aqua Gloss, I'm a little wary of using the other Alclad varnishes as a last coat as I'm afraid the lacquers will react with the Mr Hobby Acrylics. Do you use them on Acrylics as well?

Jay, I've used Alclad's Flat Klear in my two most recently finished models (Wick's Bf 109, finished in January, and Red Baron's Triplane, finished in May), painted with Gunze and Tamiya acrylics and they're still perfect. This review also states that Alclad's Klear finishes are suitable for use on acrylics, enamels and lacquers.

Cheers

Jaime

[Mountain goat]

Thanks for the comments -

To add to the earlier pics, here's the finished fuel tanks:

Can't tell how I managed to miss this one!

Splendid work going on there!

Hi Antoine, thanks!

Very good job !!! Nice blue !

However, allow me one remark : the RWR antennas on the tail fin shouldn't be black but grey. When these antennas are black, it means that RWR isn't Thomson-CSF BF but American AN/ALR-66. Only two countries did surely that, Greece and Morroco.

Great! The blue may seem a tad light against a dark background, but it becomes darker once outside or in front of white. Oh and yes, I used dark grey for the RWR, but too dark I agree. Thank you for that - I'll correct it in due course. The white of the side antennas still need to be painted.

I'm still determined to find a picture of the F-1B with the larger Spa171/ERC571 for the Comtat-Venaissin scheme on Berna BD72-50, I live in hope!

Don't forget when weathering that the stencils, national and squadron markings etc will also be weathered, the groundcrew don't waste time making sure those are all shiny when the rest of the airframe is all mucky.

Better late than never Antoine! I have to agree, Jay has done a superb job with this kit so far.

I've now trawled through a chunk of internet and haven't seen it yet. I'll let you know when I do though.

Thanks for the heads up regarding the markings, though as they were quite new in '83, I need to be subtle. And thanks for the compliment!

Jay, I've used Alclad's Flat Klear in my two most recently finished models (Wick's Bf 109, finished in January, and Red Baron's Triplane, finished in May), painted with Gunze and Tamiya acrylics and they're still perfect. This review also states that Alclad's Klear finishes are suitable for use on acrylics, enamels and lacquers.

Great! Big help. Will definitely give it a go some day. The last coat seems to me the most crucial in every project. A wrong or badly reacting varnish can make or break the investment of weeks or months of work. You can repaint certain areas, you can strip some paint and start again, you can strip decals and replace them with others, but from a final coat, there's often no turning back. So I always make doubly sure everything is in order in that regard.

Jay

[Mountain goat]

Some further progress - I have had an hour or two to spare today and I have some new Mr Hobby Super Clear in so on went the final coat. You might notice some odd lightness under some decals, particularly on the nose - it's not silvering, but has to do with how the varnish reacts to the decal film (decals had three days to dry by the way) - it usually goes away. If some light spots remain, I have a solution to make it go away and / or camouflage it.

Jay

[Tiger331]

Following this very closely, having finally come across it…..not sure how I missed it. I've just started one of the single-seaters so it will prove very useful as I progress through the build. Having built practically all of the previous Mirage F.1 kit releases in this scale, I'm struck with the quality of this kit and the fact that Special Hobby seem to have captured the 'finer' look of the Mirage F.1 that is evident on the real thing but is somehow lacking in the earlier kits, some of which have a distinctly 'portly' appearance in parts of the airframe and around the canopy.

Really look forward to seeing the completed example.

[Tiger331]

Slowly working myself through the single-seater version of this kit. All I will say is that I very much hope Special Hobby give serious consideration to upscaling this kit to 1:48 at some point in the near future.

Delightful little kit although there are one or two areas that need attention as Jay has already highlighted. I encountered the same issues with the mainplane lower surfaces being too thick so thinned them down as suggested but, interestingly, did not encounter any problems with the dihedral once I presented them to the fuselage. Maybe there is something different between the single and two-seater fuselages although I cannot see what.

It is certainly turning out to be a far more pleasurable build than the Kitty Hawk 1:48 kit which I have put to one side for now…..lacking motivation, I have to say, and that coming from a real Mirage F.1 fan.

[Wez]

Slowly working myself through the single-seater version of this kit. All I will say is that I very much hope Special Hobby give serious consideration to upscaling this kit to 1:48 at some point in the near future.

It is certainly turning out to be a far more pleasurable build than the Kitty Hawk 1:48 kit which I have put to one side for now…..lacking motivation, I have to say, and that coming from a real Mirage F.1 fan.

Then my friend, this is the GB for you http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234975223-mirage-groupbuild-for-2017/

[Mountain goat]

Hi, Now enjoying a splendid Croatian sunshine, trying to avoid the crowded tourism industry and having a relaxed time with my wife. We'll

try to have a peek at a Slovenian MiG-21 that's being renovated later this week. I'm also looking forward to resuming the build next weekend though.

Jay

[Mountain goat]

Hi all,

The Mirage received its legs! Note: Flatten wheels where it contacts the surface to ensure the wheels remain straight up, especially considering the delicate legs. Anyway it's more realistic. I did it by applying heat over the area that's to be flattened and then push that area down on a flat surface. (here seen with touches of Surfacer 500 to ensure the model's right sit.)

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Here after adding:

-nose sensor (removed from the kit, front end dipped in Surfacer 500, sanded to resemble actual sensor)

-pitot tubes on the sides

-fuel tanks

-assorted touches of paint

-other stuff I forget.

Getting there! All that remains: nose wheel door, ejection seats and canopies.

Jay

Edited August 24, 2016 by Mountain goat

[jrlx]

Hi Jay,

she's looking a real beauty! Well done

It's impossible not to like a Mirage

Cheers

Jaime

[Wez]

Hi Jay,

she's looking a real beauty! Well done

It's impossible not to like a Mirage

Cheers

Jaime

Jay,

I can only echo what Jaime has said, you have rendered a thing of beauty, beautifully!

I also agree with his second comment, it is impossible not to like a Mirage!

Wez

[mirageiv]

Excellent work, such a good looking aircraft and I like how you displayed the front leg too

[Mountain goat]

Thanks guys - have caught a bug or something after the last post - have been thinking all along I had already replied, but I didn't.

It's impossible not to like a Mirage

Quite. If not, one hasn't a soul.

Jay

[Mountain goat]

Hi,

Can anyone help me out a little: I'm thinking of making the Mirage part of a little vignette - possibly including a ground vehicle. Was the Armeé de l'Air equipped with the Renault 4 or the Renault Fourgonnette (this one) in 1980s, for everyday routine stuff like driving a missing part from A to B or dropping off a pilot at a shelter?

PJ Productions make a resin Renault 4, wondering if I could get away with using one of those.

Thanks! Jay

[Antoine]

Certainly, Jay.

There were even more specific versions for the Commandos de l'air defending French air bases.

I'll try to get you more informations, just give me some time.

[Mountain goat]

Certainly, Jay.

There were even more specific versions for the Commandos de l'air defending French air bases.

I'll try to get you more informations, just give me some time.

No problem Antoine, thanks for taking the trouble!

Jay

[Mountain goat]

Alrighty then - she's finished! I'll upload an RfI later, but first I'd like to share some pics of the last stretch.

Back to the wheels. Earlier I described how I flattened them with heat and pressure.

Doing this isn't only for esthetic reasons, but practical as well: increasing the area of contact with the surface the model will stand improves stability. If a wheel will stand upright of itself, this will decrease pressure on the usually relatively flexible undercarriage leg. Wheels with a round profile will want to fall to one side or the other; if secured to an undercarriage leg, it will want to bend to one side, often taking the leg with it.

I had said earlier I wanted to use the CMK aftermarket set but I received them to late for this build. Also, they appear sold out nearly everywhere. Therefore I went ahead and worked with the kit's wheels. Not ideal - just compare the Special Hobby wheel to Hasegawa's and to photos of the real thing; the tire is too think, rim too small and the profile is too rounded - real tires are flattened and have a noticable profile.

However, as a disclaimer sort of: the wheels aren't all equally flattened. Somehow I couldn't get the wings level, maybe I've done something wrong, although I don't what - so I resorted to flattening the left-hand wheels more and leaving the right hand-hand ones almost as -is (hence the chocks seen below - they're supposed to camouflage that).

Here's how I flattened the wheels:

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...After I sanded the seam line that runs over the profile, flattening it somewhat at the same time.

Next: the Ejection seats. I took a good look at how the seat looks, then I used the foil that comes under the lid of the small Nutella jars - cut it in thin strips and stuck 'em to the seat with CA glue. I used Tamiya tape on top of the headrest and some bits from electrical wire.

Brush painted with Vallejo Model color paint, in combination with Winsor&Newton Flow Improver, - I was also somewhat able to recreate the information plates on the headrest using the same means.

Next I installed the seats and canopies (Brush painted with Vallejo Model color and at this point still needing a little correction) all in one go.

I used a bit of paper-thin Evergreen sheet to simulate a binder or something similar tucked away behind the windscreen.

The white lines on the front canopy were also painted per brush - not the most efficient thing to do and not a satisfactory result. I could and should have used this stuff - (a tip from the great Vitor Sousa):

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235005574-white-stripes-in-canopys/

... but ended up using the same way Vitor Sousa also did; on the windscreen. Perhaps a tad too thick for 1/72 - but there you go, gave it a try anyway.

The canopies were fixed on the position typical for the two-seater - the rear canopy opens up at more of an angle than the front one, giving a asymetrical look - having them opened at the same angle wouldn't look right:

Lastly, I made some wheel chocks using stretched sprue.

Lastly, weathering: I'm happy with how that turned out: aka noticable, but subtle. I spot-painted, by airbrushing diluted variations of the base coat (little more white, little more grey, little more blue), and then by drybrushing similar variations. Lastly, after the final varnish coat, I used the cheaper version of Tamiya's weathering pastel set from the shop's make-up department - Catrice Cosmetics Absolute Matt Eyeshadow Palette. It gives very subtle effects, recommended.

Anyway here she is (see the Ready for Inspection for more):

So that's that then. Hope this WIP was of some use. I must say, on the whole, the kit was a much more pleasurable build than I would have guessed before starting. There's no ill-fitting parts anywhere apart from the lower wings- and generally the kit gave me no nasty surprises. Looking forward to more builds of the Mirage kind. In the future, I will consider using white metal undercarriage legs because the plastic parts are slightly fragile.

Thanks for looking, Jay

Edited September 7, 2016 by Mountain goat

[jrlx]

Superb result, Jay! Very well done! Congrats!

I liked the detailing of the seats!

Thanks for sharing this WIP, it will be a very useful future reference.

Cheers

Jaime

[Mountain goat]

Thanks Jaimie! Also thanks for all your comments during this build!

Jay